U.S. roster set for international games

August 8, 2012

LAKE PLACID - Thirty-four of the initial 45 players in attendance at the 2012 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp will remain to oppose Sweden and Finland in a series of international games here this week.

The players are auditioning for a spot on the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ufa, Russia.

"The first three days of camp have been impressive and we have been pleased with the players' level of competition," said Jim Johannson, USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations and the general manager of the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team. "The players being released today are still among those being evaluated for the team in the coming months. For the players retained, this week's upcoming international games in Lake Placid give us an oportunity to further assess their skills."

Among those staying are goalie John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa.), defenseman Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich.) and forward J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio), who were members of the 2012 U.S. National Junior Team.

USA Blue beat Finland, 5-4, and USA White lost to Finland, 5-1, during the first day of international competition on Monday, Aug. 6. The trimmed Team USA roster will play two more games against Finland and one more contest against Sweden. All games are being played at the Olympic Center's Herb Brooks Arena.

NOTES: All games from the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp are being streamed live and are available on demand at FASTHockey.com. ... The 2013 U.S. National Junior Team will be selected in late December following a pre-tournament camp from Dec. 19 to 23 to be held in Helsinki, Finland. ... Phil Housley (South St. Paul, Minn.), head boy's ice hockey coach at Stillwater (Minn.) High School, is the head coach of the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team. He is assisted by Mark Osiecki (Columbus, Ohio), head men's ice hockey coach at Ohio State University and Grant Potulny (Minneapolis, Minn.), assistant men's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota. ... Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), assistant men's ice hockey coach coach at Boston College, Joe Exter (Columbus, Ohio), assistant men's ice hockey coach at Ohio State University, Tony Granato (South Hills, Pa.), assistant coach for the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins and Don Lucia (Plymouth, Minn.), head men's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota are also participating in Lake Placid as camp coaches. ... Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the fourth consecutive year. Tim Taylor (Guilford, Conn.) is the director of player personnel.

Fact Box

USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp Schedule

At 1980 Rink, Herb Brooks Arena

Wednesday, Aug. 8

USA vs. Finland, 4 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 9

USA vs. Sweden, 4 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 10

Finland vs. Sweden, 4 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 11

USA vs. Finland, 1 p.m.

Tickets for each game are $8 for adults (13-64) and $5 for juniors (7-12) and seniors (65+). Children 6 and under are admitted for free.

An all-event ticket to see each of the nine games is $50 for adults and $35 for juniors and seniors. Tickets will be available at the Herb Brooks Arena door.